Lost Till You're Found
by ihearttvsnark
Summary: Elijah is determined to keep what's left of his family together.


**Title: **Lost Till You're Found

**Author:** ihearttvsnark

**Chapters: **1/1

**Fandom: **The Vampire Diaries

**Characters: **Elijah Mikaelson, Klaus Mikaelson

**Rating: **PG-13

**Word Count: **1,607

**Summary: **Elijah is determined to keep what's left of his family together.

**Warnings:** Spoilers through the season 3 finale

* * *

**Lost Till You're Found**

It was nearly dawn when Elijah turned his car into the driveway of the mansion. He brought it to a stop, shut off the engine and reached into the pocket of his suit jacket for his cell phone. His jaw was tight as he stared at the house, not sure where he was going to find the strength to cross the threshold again, even if it would be for the last time. The ache in his chest had not lessened and he doubted it ever would. Closing his eyes, Elijah took two slow, deep breaths and pushed aside everything except the task at hand. Once he regained his composure, he opened his eyes and focused on the phone, scrolling through his contacts and pressing the one he needed.

The phone rang four times before there was a click and the electronic voice asking him if he would like to leave a message. The tension in his jaw increased as he waited for the beep. "Kol," he started, not bothering with any kind of formal greeting. "I've already left three messages and this will be the last one." Elijah paused, knowing his warning tone would come across loud and clear through the voicemail. "We need to regroup and we must remain together. I am going to get Rebekah and we will meet you in Toronto. Do not go anywhere else." He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket, hoping that perhaps this would be the time Kol finally listened.

Elijah was not going to lose any more of his family.

He left the keys in the ignition, not planning on staying long as he pushed open the door and got out of the car. Elijah moved slowly up the pathway leading to the porch, each step seeming to remind him that Niklaus was gone. Time moved differently for vampires, but it was still nearly impossible for him to reconcile that it hadn't been that long ago that he'd had the chance to kill his brother himself and he'd almost done it. Shame washed over him and Elijah paused on the porch, not sure he could move the final steps into the house his brother had chosen for their family home.

Would things have been different if he'd stayed after Esther had betrayed them? Elijah had been so caught up in his own issues that he'd dismissed his siblings as monsters and left without a second thought. He should have come back after Finn was killed. Elijah and Finn had never seen eye to eye on anything, but he was still his brother and he should have been there for the rest of his family. Elijah knew that he could not change the past, but he would do whatever he could to protect his remaining siblings.

Elijah walked through the front door with renewed purpose. "Rebekah!" he called. "We need to leave immediately." Elijah knew his sister didn't want to run, but they didn't have a choice and he was not leaving town without her. The house was quiet and he wondered if Rebekah had decided it was too hard to go back there. As he tried to think of where else his sister might go to deal with her grief, a sound from the den caught his attention. Using his speed, Elijah was in the room in less than a second.

Tyler Lockwood paced back and forth in front of the fireplace and as he turned toward the doorway, Elijah just stared at him for a moment as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. For the first time that night, Elijah felt the tightness in his chest start to ease. "You were telling the truth about the bloodline," he said simply.

"I was," Klaus replied, a smirk crossing Tyler's face. "I heard you were back in town, Elijah. Something about coming here to make a deal for the return of my body?" he said. "I didn't know that you cared since you just left me here."

Elijah shook his head, the look on his face warning his brother that he was not going to play that game. It was just like Niklaus to pick at old wounds instead of looking at the gift of a second chance. "I know this has always been one of your favorite tricks, but how did you convince the witch to perform the spell in time?"

"It was her idea," Klaus replied. "She didn't want to take any chances with her mother's life or those of her friends in case I was telling the truth. Which I was," he added petuantly. "Now answer my question, brother." Tyler's eyes narrowed and his arms crossed over his chest as he continued to pace restlessly in front of the fireplace. "Why did you come back to Mystic Falls?" he asked.

"You're my brother, Niklaus," Elijah stated. He was still trying to grasp that his brother was alive and standing in front of him, even if he was in the wrong body. Elijah had assumed Niklaus had been the one to turn Mary and he'd known Rebekah had been telling the truth when she'd said it wasn't her and Kol had been adamant as well. But when Elena had told him that Tyler had died, it hadn't made sense. But Elijah had been to overcome with grief and loss to look at the situation logically. If he had, he might have realized what had actually happened.

Elijah forced himself not to dwell on what he'd missed so he could focus on the present situation. Niklaus was still using Tyler's body to look at him expectantly, but Elijah was not going to waste time soothing his brother's ego. "I came back here to make a deal for your body and now we need to honor that agreement. We shall retrieve your body, have the witch reverse the spell and then we are going to take Rebekah and leave Mystic Falls behind. Is that clear?" he asked, not leaving any room for argument.

The smirk was back on Tyler's face as Klaus laughed. "Always the responsible older brother coming in to save the day at the last minute," he said mockingly. "What if I want to stay here and get vengeance on those who did this to me? I wouldn't be in this body if they hadn't put the desecration spell on me in the first place," Klaus pointed out.

"You were going to kill Elena after you drained all her blood from her," Elijah countered, scowling. He'd been furious when Stefan had told him that after he'd shown up at the Gilbert house. "Our family has hurt her enough," he added, guilt tightening in his chest once more as he recalled what he had done to Elena last time he'd been in town.

Klaus sighed loudly and rolled Tyler's eyes. "It was the only way to undo Mother's latest creation," he protested, disgust seeping into Tyler's voice. "Do you think I wanted to kill the last link to the Petrova line? The blood I took from her won't last forever and I'll be limited be how many hybrids I can make." Tyler's mouth curved into an exaggerate pout.

"We are not staying here and you are not using Elena's blood to make new hybrids," Elijah replied firmly. He was going to uphold his end of the bargain he had made with her. Niklaus was awake and he would remain that way, but Elijah would not let his brother hurt anyone else. "We do not have a lot of time before the hunter comes looking for us. Where do you think Rebekah could be?" he asked.

Klaus didn't reply for a moment as Tyler's eyes drifted back to the fire. "So it will just be the four of us then," he said. "Running off to hide from the hunter who has the stake that can kill us," he added as he glanced back over Tyler's shoulder at Elijah. "What's to stop you from taking off again, brother?"

"Always and forever," Elijah replied quietly. Even though he wasn't looking into his brother's actual eyes, the words held the same weight. "I'm tired of all the fighting, Niklaus. The four of us are all that is left and we need to stick together if we're going to survive. I do not want to risk losing you again. Please," he said.

"The witch is supposed to be here soon," Klaus replied. He crossed the room to stand in front of Elijah, Tyler's expression neutral as he met Elijah's gaze. "Once she puts me back in my body, we will find Rebekah and go. By the time Tyler wakes up and everyone realizes what happened, we can be long gone. It'll be an adventure, brother." He allowed a small smile to cross Tyler's face.

Elijah nodded and placed his hand on Tyler's shoulder. "We stick together as one," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"Always and forever," Klaus echoed. He placed Tyler's hand on Elijah's shoulder and they remained still for a moment, each of them silently reflecting on the thousand years that had passed since they'd first made that declaration. Finally, Klaus took a step back, Tyler's eyes glancing toward the doorway. "I'll wait here for the witch while you look for Rebekah."

"We will return soon," Elijah promised before he sped out of the room, anxious to get back to the car and track down their sister to tell her the good news. They were finally going to be a family again and this time, nothing was going to tear them apart.


End file.
